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Author Topic: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions  (Read 16338 times)

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Offline RobbyR

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Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« on: December 04, 2012, 05:17:28 pm »
So are most docs offering the Quad (Stribild) as an option now to patients as a regimen? I haven't been following the developments regarding that medication, but I do know the FDA approved it recently..I've been on Atripla for a couple years with no major issues, except for some problems falling asleep, which I don't know is med-related or not (but I never had those issues prior to starting Atripla). Overall I like Atripla and have tolerated it well, so just wondering if maybe it would be worth asking my doc about the Quad, which has no sustiva in it..Is the Quad considered a PI or a NNRI? How about Complera? Has anyone here switched from Atripla to the Quad or Complera, and does the sustiva in Atripla potentially cause sleep issues? Thanks for the input! Just wanting some insight before my doc appointment this week.
"I survived because I was tougher than anybody else".--Bette Davis

Atripla
2010-2015

Stribild
2015-2016

Genvoya
2016-

Offline texaninnyc87

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2012, 06:20:05 pm »
Im going on meds soon and Stribild is my number one choice, so i would also like to hear some feedback if anyone has it!
Dxd: 9/11/12
Blot confirmed: 11/12
12/12 cd4: 280 (20%) vl: 129,000
1/13 $tribild
2/13 cd4: 350 (26%) vl: 80
4/13 cd4: 510 (29%) vl:: 35
6/13cd4 350 (31%) vl: 21
9/13 cd4 492 (30%) vl: ud
12/13 cd4 846 (36%) vl: 100
1/14 cd4 480 (31%) vl: UD
3/14 cd4 650 (33%) vl: UD
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9/14 cd4 439 (38%) vl: UD
12/14 cd4 551 (37%) vl: UD

Offline vaguesbleues

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2012, 06:53:44 pm »
Stribild (i.e. the Quad) contains four drugs:  two are nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (the same two that are in Complera, Atripla, Truvada), along with an integrase inhibitor and a boosting agent.  It's the first one-pill once-a-day regimen that is integrase based, whereas Complera and Atripla have an NNTRI as the third antiretroviral drug. 

As for me, I've been on Atripla for over a year.  While it certainly gave me some loopy feelings the first few days, it calmed down in a few weeks, and I am very content with the regimen.  Other than having slightly more vivid dreams, I haven't noticed any lasting side effects.  And really....I do enjoy the dreams :)

Best of luck in picking a regimen.  And just remember, if the first one you go with doesn't work well for you, there are plenty of others that you can always try. 
3/10/11 - HIV-
4/26/11 - Inconclusive WB
5/19/11 - HIV+, VL < 50, T-Cell 747 (30%)
6/13/11 - VL 345, T-Cell 841 (30%)
8/23/11 - VL 50,100, T-Cell 1155 (19%) - CMV
9/18/11 - Started Atripla
11/7/11 - VL 489, T-Cell 881 (31%)
2/8/12 - VL Undetectable!, T-Cell 772 (34%)
8/8/12 - VL UD, T-Cell 1070 (42%)
11/5/12 - VL UD, T-Cell 1174 (35%)
3/18/13 - VL UD, T-Cell 972 (28%)
10/4/13 - VL UD, T-Cell 1025 (34%)
2/9/14 - VL UD
7/31/14 - VL UD
1/29/15 - VL UD, T-Cell 1027 (32%)
9/15/15 - VL UD
10/21/16 - VL UD, T-cell 765 (39%)
4/28/17 - VL 29
8/17 - started Genvoya
10/27/17 - VL UD, T-cell 880 (35%)
3/30/18 - VL UD
9/28/18 - VL UD, T-cell 980 (34%)
4/19/19 - VL UD
10/18/19 - VL UD
10/22/20 - VL UD, T-cell 1005 (35%)

Offline Eugene50

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2012, 07:41:19 pm »
Hi I have been on Stribild for 17 days now with no side of effects thank God! My tcells were 500 and my viral load was 127,000 now 17 days with Stribild my tcells are 645 and viral load 300. I haven't had No side effects I don't even know what to look for but I'm Not.

Offline antibody

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2012, 04:33:24 pm »
My Doctor offered me a switch to Stribild. I've currently been taking Reyataz, Norvir, Truvada since 3/07 with no side effects. I think he thinks it would be easier to simplify with a 1 pill combo but I don't see 1 pill being a good enough reason to switch. I started treatment with Atripla and hated it. I felt like shit 24/7 and sleeping was miserable. I don't want to change what already works.
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                 <50/ 1096 CD4 3/07
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Started Atripla  7/14/06
Switched to boosted Reyataz Truvada 3/28/07

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Offline Ann

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2012, 06:12:45 pm »
My Doctor offered me a switch to Stribild. I've currently been taking Reyataz, Norvir, Truvada since 3/07 with no side effects. I think he thinks it would be easier to simplify with a 1 pill combo but I don't see 1 pill being a good enough reason to switch. I started treatment with Atripla and hated it. I felt like shit 24/7 and sleeping was miserable. I don't want to change what already works.

You don't have/need to change if you're happy and feeling good with what you're taking, and your labs are good (not just those numbers, all of them).

Personally, I don't see the benefit. They're both once-a-day combos - is a couple fewer pills to take at one time worth breaking in a new combo?

Another factor to consider is that Stribild is new and it's expensive. Think about how that may impact you as well.
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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2012, 06:39:31 pm »
The way I'm reading it is the doctor was offering the option, not pushing it. Seems logical to me for the doctor to do so. Most patients don't pre-occupy themselves with dreary web forums to learn things about HIV, so they'd maybe not know of a new option and one to decrease pill load. And, of course, for many patients they prefer to take less pills if possible.

As far as cost, I can't clearly recall -- Stribild is more expensive than Atripla, but it may not be for those three pills antibody is taking when you add them up. I think when I compared it to the monthly cost of what I take it wasn't a big deal.

The bottom line is that I would prefer to have a doctor that presented options to me rather than one that did not.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline WindySkies

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2012, 01:09:05 am »
For me the cost is actually less then the Complera.  Instead of $40 copay, it's only $20 for the Stribild. :o  And with the Gilead copay assistance card, it's still $0 for me.  Now I'll be able to eat a smaller breakfast instead of overfilling myself just to meet the 400 calorie requirement of the Complera.
10/11/2012 Journey Started
10/17/2012 First Labs: VL=57,645  CD4+=730  37%
10/31/2012 Started Complera
11/30/2012 Labs: VL=80  CD4+=929 40%
12/24/2012 Started Stribild

Undetectable since 1/15/13 CD4+= Over 1,400 and 49%

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2012, 01:51:07 am »
Is 400 calories that huge? I think a bowl (and I don't mean a large one) of cereal I eat is ~300. That's not even including the milk. What were you having to eat? A bagel with butter is 495.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline jkinatl2

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2012, 02:35:42 am »
Is 400 calories that huge? I think a bowl (and I don't mean a large one) of cereal I eat is ~300. That's not even including the milk. What were you having to eat? A bagel with butter is 495.

I tried to eat 400 calories today with my pills. I nearly gagged. It's an awful lot if you are not used to eating large meals. My Frosted Mini Wheats, a rather high calorie (but decent fiber!) cereal plus skin milk barely topped two hundred and fifty calories, and I had to force myself to finish it.

400 is a pretty hefty meal in my opinion. I rarely, if ever, take my pills (Isentress, Prezista, Norvir and Truvada) with that many calories. Usually if I manage to try, I get two thirds of the way there.

This is why I don't go to all you can eat buffets. I suck at binge eating.


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Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2012, 03:21:47 am »

400 is a pretty hefty meal in my opinion.

Really? You can't throw back a bagel? You'll never marry a Jew.

Quote

I rarely, if ever, take my pills (Isentress, Prezista, Norvir and Truvada) with that many calories. Usually if I manage to try, I get two thirds of the way there.

There's no calorie requirement for these, only "with food" for two of them. I've asked my doctor, actually several, and they've always said "with food" doesn't equate to a full meal. I'm sure it means more than a bitten off fingernail though, or meth.

That said I don't find a one-pill-a-day requirement of 400 calories anything to labor over. So you don't eat a lot from breakfast, surely one meal a day a patient eats more than a bagel.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline WindySkies

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #11 on: December 06, 2012, 04:27:58 pm »
Is 400 calories that huge? I think a bowl (and I don't mean a large one) of cereal I eat is ~300. That's not even including the milk. What were you having to eat? A bagel with butter is 495.

My normal breakfast is:

2 Egg Omelet (using egg beaters) 50 Calories
1/3 Cup cheese for omelet 100 Calories
3 strips turkey bacon (30 calories ea) 90 Calories

That's enough to fill me and I'm only at 240 total calories

Then I usually have to add in a Yogurt (170 calories, 410 total), or substitute the bacon and yogurt for a wheat bagel with non-fat cream cheese (280 calories).  I stopped eating any bread products that aren't 100% whole wheat.

The day I found out my diagnosis I stopped drinking anything but water, stopped eating any fast food, stopped eating deep fried foods, and started swimming 1.5 miles a day, 6 days a week.  I also started writing down my calorie intake and trying to keep it under 1,500 a day.  Because my meal portions are much smaller then they used to be, trying to eat an omelet and a bagel, or an omelet with back and yogurt, is simply too much.  I feel overfull when I'm done.

That's my reason for wanting to get away from the 400 calorie requirement.  I've dropped 25 pounds in two months, and want to still drop another 25, so being able to control my calorie intake just that little bit more will help.  Plus I can stop eating when I'm full.

It's easy to get to 400 calories if you don't care what you're eating, but trying to make a healthy meal to reach 400 calories, and not over eat can be hard.

10/11/2012 Journey Started
10/17/2012 First Labs: VL=57,645  CD4+=730  37%
10/31/2012 Started Complera
11/30/2012 Labs: VL=80  CD4+=929 40%
12/24/2012 Started Stribild

Undetectable since 1/15/13 CD4+= Over 1,400 and 49%

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #12 on: December 06, 2012, 05:17:32 pm »
It's still one pill a day -- is your dinner similarly under 400 calories? Are you a supermodel or something? I've gone out to dinner with Erin O'Connor several times and seen her shove back more food than that and still fit into a size 0 or 1.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline WindySkies

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #13 on: December 06, 2012, 07:10:07 pm »
I eat 5 small meals over the day, so no matter what time I eat my meal is always small and not very close to 400 calories.  I don't eat out anyone either because it's hard to get a healthy meal  at a price less than I can cook for.  And I'm not super model either, just someone who is trying everything I can to get in to the best shape I can.
10/11/2012 Journey Started
10/17/2012 First Labs: VL=57,645  CD4+=730  37%
10/31/2012 Started Complera
11/30/2012 Labs: VL=80  CD4+=929 40%
12/24/2012 Started Stribild

Undetectable since 1/15/13 CD4+= Over 1,400 and 49%

Offline Solo_LTSurvivor

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2012, 08:23:25 pm »
just someone who is trying everything I can to get in to the best shape I can.

Starting with avoiding any and every thing containing efavirenz, no doubt.
don't equate intelligence with lack of masculinity
Jim Phelps, Mission Impossible
____________________________

Seroconverted: Early 80s
Tested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Biktarvy. 
Last regimen:  Atripla (with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky ::))
Past regimens
Fun stuff (in the past):  HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

Jan 2012: 818/21%
Apr 2012: 964/22%
Jul. 2012: 890/21%
Oct. 2012: 920/23%

Still UD after all these years

Offline Jeff G

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2012, 10:26:23 pm »
I don't eat out anyone either because it's hard to get a healthy meal 

Have you tried vegetarians  ;) .
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Offline Rev. Moon

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #16 on: December 06, 2012, 10:32:35 pm »
I don't eat out anyone either

Have you tried vegetarians  ;) .

Windy, girl.  Eating out is one of life's greatest pleasures. 

"Now what could be better than a home cooked meal
How you want to eat it depends on how you feel
You can eat all you want and you don't get fat
Now where else can you go for a meal like that
It's not fair to be selfish or stingy
Every girl should experience eating out
Sometimes when I come home from a hard day at work
I swear it's all I can think about..."
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Offline bufguy

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #17 on: December 07, 2012, 11:02:09 am »
I've been on Atripla for over 4 years now with great results...NO side effects, great numbers. I can even take my pill with food...doesn't effect me. I've talked to my doc out of curiosity about Stribild.
His comment was that he likes atripla because of the very long half life of the efavirenz which makes it somewhat more forgiving with schedule. The FOTO study, (5 days on 2 days off) showed that it was as effective when 2 days were taken off from meds...(disclaimer...very small study, don't try at home).
His only concerns about Stribild was that if there was any tendency towards kidney problem with Truvada (2 of the components in both atripla and stribild), the booster in stribild could magnify them.
I think Atripla is great.
5/29/08 confirmed HIV+
6/23/08 Vl 47500  CD4 511/29% CD8 .60
start atripla
8/1/08 Vl 130  CD4 667/31% CD8 .70
9/18/08 Vl un  CD4 not tested
12/19/08 Vl un CD4 723/32% CD8 .80
4/3/09 Vl un CD4 615/36% CD8  .98
8/7/09 vl un CD4 689/35% CD8 .9
12/11/09 vl un CD4 712/38% CD8 .89
4/9/10 vl un CD4 796/39% CD8 1.0
8/20/10 vl un CD4 787/38% CD8 1.0
4/6/10 vl un CD4 865/35% CD8 .9
8/16/10 vl un CD4 924/37% CD8 1.0
12/23/10 vl un CD4 1006/35% CD8 .9
5/2/10 vl un CD4 1040/39% CD8 .9
8/7/13 vl un CD4 840/39% CD8 .
11/29/18 vl un CD4 1080/39% CD8  .86

Offline buginme2

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2012, 10:22:16 pm »
I've been on Atripla for over 4 years now with great results...NO side effects, great numbers. I can even take my pill with food...doesn't effect me. I've talked to my doc out of curiosity about Stribild.
His comment was that he likes atripla because of the very long half life of the efavirenz which makes it somewhat more forgiving with schedule. The FOTO study, (5 days on 2 days off) showed that it was as effective when 2 days were taken off from meds...(disclaimer...very small study, don't try at home).
His only concerns about Stribild was that if there was any tendency towards kidney problem with Truvada (2 of the components in both atripla and stribild), the booster in stribild could magnify them.
I think Atripla is great.

Your doctor and my doctor should hang out and be friends because my doctor told me something very similar to this.  He also was concerned about the kidney issues with Stribild.  He said it might be prudent to wait a few more months for some of the issues to be identified before a switch is initiated.  Especially if you are on an effective treatment now. 

Don't be fancy, just get dancey

Offline Oneday/undia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2012, 06:36:06 pm »
Hi
I have been taking stribild for two weeks and no side effects so far. I ll do my lab in january so ill see if is working. Let you know. As for the price is more or less what i pay for the truvada,reyataz and novir together. I use the co-pay card from the manufacture ($400) and my insurance and have to pay $350.00 out of my pocket :(. I take it in the morning usually with two toast and coffee and is working for me
Positive nov/08. Vl 15,000 cd 400
12/08 start treatment ( norvir, truvada,reyataz)
07/12 und/cd 575/42%
12/12 start Stribild
01/13 one month on stribild cd 715/35 %
2/13 725/47% UND
08/13 709/45% UND
01/14 850/44% UND
08/14 1,200/45% UND

Offline NYCguy

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #20 on: January 14, 2013, 03:22:47 pm »
Like 'Antibody' I'm also on Norvir-boosted Reyataz + Truvada.  It's been working great for 6 years and I basically think it's a great regmien.  My doc and I spoke about switching to Stribild, in part I think because it's newer generation, but also because I have diarrhea + bad gas on and off for the last year or so.  It's strange, because half the time there is no problem at all, then suddenly I'll have an 'accident' for no reason.  I can't seem to relate it to eating or anything else, and I've been doing this long enough to know how much I need to eat with the meds.  I suppose it's possible it's not related.. but maybe switching would be a good idea.

My question is, have others had GI problems with Stribild?  And secondly, my doc doesn't seem to be, but I am concerned about the Kidney issues which are exacerbated by truvada.  Are there other once-a-day regimens that don't contain Truvada?  I would love to get off it, until the new less kidney-toxic/lower dose version comes out, which I hear will be at least 4 years after testing.  I thought of a Selzentry-based one, but that is 2x/day.  I've heard of people 'doubling up' on it, but I suppose that's dangerous, unless anyone knows of new studies....?

Thanks!
11/9/06 = #$%^&!
sometime early Dec 2006:
CD4 530 20%/VL >250,000 (&*$$%!!)
started Reyataz300mg/Norvir/Truvada 12-27-06.
1/30/07 CD4 540 30%/VL <400
4/07 CD4 600+ 33%/VL <50
6/9/07 CD4 720 37%/VL <50
10/15/07 CD4 891 (!) %? VL <50
1/2010 CD4 599 (37%) VL<50 (drop due to acute HCV)
9/2010 - looks like HCV is gone for good! And I'm finally drinking again, thank GOD
2013 - considering a switch to Stribild. but I love my Kidneys (but I hate farting all the time!)...
June 2013 - switched to Stribild.  so far so good...

Offline Ann

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #21 on: January 14, 2013, 03:39:06 pm »
How many of you attributing GI problems fail to realise that hiv itself can cause ... shit to happen? Not many I would guess. Hiv can do a number on your digestive tract with or with the added influence of hiv meds.

Shit happens. You're hiv poz. Get used to it and find ways of dealing with it or ... deal with shit running down your legs.

Dunno. Would you rather I sugar-coated it?
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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #22 on: January 14, 2013, 04:49:37 pm »
Would you rather I sugar-coated it?

I'd love some of your shit coated with sugar. But only if you use hand-crafted Japanese sugar that the Emperor uses.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline texaninnyc87

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #23 on: January 14, 2013, 05:03:40 pm »
What is is about HIV that specifically effects the digestive system? Is it just one of those mysterious side effects kind of things? I was always under the impression that the virus itself didn't do much except lower the immune system and that all the effects people feel are mainly due to their body's inability to fight off things that it once could. is this incorrect? if there are certain symptoms and side effects from infection that are relative to the virus itself and not just a weakened immune system wouldnt these stop showing themselves once the virus was under control (ie once someone is UD)? i'm just curious. having just started meds i'm wondering what toe xpect once (if) i become undetectable. i've read a lot about "feeling better" in general, but that seems kind of vague...sorry to hijack this thread!
Dxd: 9/11/12
Blot confirmed: 11/12
12/12 cd4: 280 (20%) vl: 129,000
1/13 $tribild
2/13 cd4: 350 (26%) vl: 80
4/13 cd4: 510 (29%) vl:: 35
6/13cd4 350 (31%) vl: 21
9/13 cd4 492 (30%) vl: ud
12/13 cd4 846 (36%) vl: 100
1/14 cd4 480 (31%) vl: UD
3/14 cd4 650 (33%) vl: UD
6/14 cd4 410 (35%) vl: UD
9/14 cd4 439 (38%) vl: UD
12/14 cd4 551 (37%) vl: UD

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #24 on: January 14, 2013, 05:50:08 pm »
First of all, far from everyone has HIV-related (meaning not related to the meds) digestive issues. Second, the GI tract is an "immunologic" organ of sorts. The surface of your GI tract if you spread it out is double that of your skin. And since it comes in contact with external items like food there is a substantial immune cell activation deployed at mucosal surfaces. GI-associated lymphoid tissue constitutes the largest immune compartment in the body.

I doubt everything is really known about how HIV interacts with the digestive tract, in the presence of meds or what it does to patients before they go on meds, when they may go years without knowing they're yet infected, etc.

I wouldn't sit around worrying about "what to expect" though as, like I said, not everyone gets this and certainly not to the degree that either Ann of I have this issue. The more important issues should be how you and your doctor effectively treat the symptoms when they appear. For some it's simple diet changes, for others that has little to no effect and they have to pop yet more pills.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2013, 05:51:56 pm by Miss Philicia »
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Offline texaninnyc87

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #25 on: January 14, 2013, 07:13:15 pm »
Thanks for clearing some things up. That does make a lot of sense. When i consider all the weird skin issues i've dealt with in relation to HIV it is only logical that all the membraneous surfaces inside the body could definitely also be effected.
Dxd: 9/11/12
Blot confirmed: 11/12
12/12 cd4: 280 (20%) vl: 129,000
1/13 $tribild
2/13 cd4: 350 (26%) vl: 80
4/13 cd4: 510 (29%) vl:: 35
6/13cd4 350 (31%) vl: 21
9/13 cd4 492 (30%) vl: ud
12/13 cd4 846 (36%) vl: 100
1/14 cd4 480 (31%) vl: UD
3/14 cd4 650 (33%) vl: UD
6/14 cd4 410 (35%) vl: UD
9/14 cd4 439 (38%) vl: UD
12/14 cd4 551 (37%) vl: UD

Offline NYCguy

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #26 on: January 17, 2013, 03:34:44 pm »
HIV depletes the gut t-cells within days, possibly hours, of infection.  It is also believed that this area is one of the reservoirs harboring low-level viremia which allows the virus to spring back when meds are stopped.  Some researchers have actually said they don't understand why more people don't have even more problems with their intestines. 

However, that said, despite Ann's comment - which is undoubtedly true for her and many others - not everyone has this issue and the cause CAN be med related.  In my case, I went several years with very few problems (an occasional issue when not eating enough with the meds) and now it's worsened, so it's really unclear if it's med related or not.  But I know enough people that have switched regimens and had dramatic side-effect changes to know that meds can also be the sole cause.

Skin can also be dramatically affected, as you surmised.  I do hope that you 'feel better' after being on meds, but it's also possible you won't notice much change.  Feeling normal and little or no side-effects is a perfect outcome, in my book.  For me personally, I was feeling achy and fluish when I started, and it all went away in a few days after starting (my VL was also very high), so I did feel much better!
11/9/06 = #$%^&!
sometime early Dec 2006:
CD4 530 20%/VL >250,000 (&*$$%!!)
started Reyataz300mg/Norvir/Truvada 12-27-06.
1/30/07 CD4 540 30%/VL <400
4/07 CD4 600+ 33%/VL <50
6/9/07 CD4 720 37%/VL <50
10/15/07 CD4 891 (!) %? VL <50
1/2010 CD4 599 (37%) VL<50 (drop due to acute HCV)
9/2010 - looks like HCV is gone for good! And I'm finally drinking again, thank GOD
2013 - considering a switch to Stribild. but I love my Kidneys (but I hate farting all the time!)...
June 2013 - switched to Stribild.  so far so good...

Offline Ann

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2013, 10:39:25 am »

However, that said, despite Ann's comment - which is undoubtedly true for her and many others - not everyone has this issue and the cause CAN be med related.


I never meant to imply that everyone has hiv related gut issues.

What I was getting at is that many people are too quick to immediately blame the meds without considering that something else may be at play, including hiv itself.

Other things to look into are the various bacterial and parasitic gut infections that may be the cause. (particularly when one is partial to salad tossing)
Condoms are a girl's best friend

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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #28 on: January 19, 2013, 04:45:19 am »
I never meant to imply that everyone has hiv related gut issues.

What I was getting at is that many people are too quick to immediately blame the meds without considering that something else may be at play, including hiv itself.

Other things to look into are the various bacterial and parasitic gut infections that may be the cause. (particularly when one is partial to salad tossing)

DITTO+++
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Offline Eiffel

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #29 on: January 19, 2013, 07:00:13 am »
Hi, am new to the forum and have been surfing it for a while to try to find an answer but haven't yet...
So I tought I ask it here.
Due to start med, so wondering what to choose.
Tempted by one pill a day, not tempted by Agrippa / efavirenz side effects.
So complera or stribild ...
Research nurse told me she is not that keen in stribild because of the kidney markers that got artificially super high, meaning she is not sure how to control kidneys is the most used marker is corrupted. She then suggests complera as being as potent, little side effects, one a day.

400 calories seems doable to me (easily done at dinner or lunch, who do you recommend and would breakfast be better?) also any idea of how these two are if you miss a dose / take it too late ? Am travelling quite a lot to Europe so time difference may be an issue.

Ay view or experience is very welcome. Am starting beginning of feb (also vl is 35k s comp,era and stribild would both be ok)

Thanks,

Gus

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #30 on: January 19, 2013, 07:11:22 am »
Eiffel, you might want to start you own thread so that you can get more answers. As it is you are diving midstream in someone else's thread, which is kind of bad netetiquette though I understand you are new to using a web forum. But welcome and once you start your own thread we'll be more than happy to discuss your issues.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline oksikoko

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #31 on: January 19, 2013, 11:57:36 am »
Hey, Robby! I'm so glad to have finally met other people on Stribild... Thanks for posting this question. It's the first ARV I've been on (diagnosed 11/20/2012) except for a month of PEP therapy years ago. As with most of the people here, I haven't had any terrible side effects - other than the fact that so few people, doctors and nurses included, had even heard of it when I started! ;)

Everyone else that I've known who's positive has been on Atripla, and they have to take it right before bed because of the Sustiva. I have to take Stribild around noon, because it makes me a little manic (lots of thoughts all at once, have to clean, have to walk, have to do anything, but have to do something, preferably fast). It calms down after a few hours, but once or twice it's kept me up overnight and into the next day. I don't mind; I get a lot done in those hours and with no illicit drugs. ;) I assume this will pass eventually.

I blame the cobicistat (with absolutely no evidence, mind you), but Stribild also seems to make me hyper-sensitive to other chemicals. If I have one coffee, it feels like I had a few pots of it. A glass of orange juice feels the same as it would if I had eaten a whole bag of Halloween candy.

I hope to stay on it, but I'm concerned about kidney damage. It seems (I'm still learning, though, so 'grain of salt') that each of the components is a kidney threat on its own, so the combination sounds risky to say the least. Again, it's mostly the cobicistat that concerns me. It's (apparently) a particularly strong enzyme inhibitor. I had one incident the other day where I felt really sharp pain in my kidney area - like nothing I've ever felt, maybe about a 4 out of 5 on the pain scale. It went on for about 4 hours, but not non-stop, luckily. I'm in between doctors right now because of insurance stuff, but that should be cleared up next week, and I'll be able to get that checked out. I'll post here if it turns out to be an issue, since it's the kind of info I would've liked to have had  beforehand. ;)

The only other sticking point is the cost, but HIV isn't cheap no matter what, I suppose. While this insurance stuff is worked out, Gilead (makers of Stribild) put me in the patient assistance program. But it was pretty tense when I got down to two pills with no prescription in the pipeline... It seems a little early in the process to already be having pill crises. Yikes.

I read what I can, but there really should be a class on all of this. Or maybe I'm more interested in the pharmacopoeia than I should be. Before my diagnosis, I had really only heard of AZT, Kaletra, Atripla, Sustiva, maybe one or two others. Interesting stuff.
Code: [Select]
2014-11-14: CD4 Wars Episode II: Return of the Stribild (released in Europe as Stribild II: Werewolf Bitch)
2014-11-06:                ☣ VL (→) 12,627      ☣ CD4 (→) 639
2014-??-??: off treatment  ☣ VL (?)              ☣ CD4 (?)
2013-10-03:                ☣ VL (=) undetectable ☣ CD4 (+) 1105
2013-05-23:                ☣ VL (=) undetectable ☣ CD4 (-) 945
2013-02-25:                ☣ VL (-) undetectable ☣ CD4 (+) 1123
2012-12-16: Enter Stribild
2012-11-20: HIV+           ☣ VL (→) 132,683      ☣ CD4 (→) 920
2012-04-01: HIV-
Dates in this signature file conform to ISO 8601. ;-)

If no one complains, nothing will ever change.

Offline NYCguy

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #32 on: March 18, 2013, 03:25:27 pm »
I never meant to imply that everyone has hiv related gut issues.

What I was getting at is that many people are too quick to immediately blame the meds without considering that something else may be at play, including hiv itself.

Other things to look into are the various bacterial and parasitic gut infections that may be the cause. (particularly when one is partial to salad tossing)

I realize this is MONTHS later... been a busy spring.  Just wanted to say thanks for the clarification Ann and point well taken.  And regarding 'tossing the salad' I've had parasite issues a few times and it is often tricky to tell if it's really something worth going to the doc for or just a run-of-the-mill bout of the runs... 
But it's worth checking if you are having issues and you like 'salad' - even a little - since they are easy to get but also easy to get rid of with treatment.  And I might add I've been avoiding that particular activity lately for just that reason.  But then again, we do need our vegetables...
11/9/06 = #$%^&!
sometime early Dec 2006:
CD4 530 20%/VL >250,000 (&*$$%!!)
started Reyataz300mg/Norvir/Truvada 12-27-06.
1/30/07 CD4 540 30%/VL <400
4/07 CD4 600+ 33%/VL <50
6/9/07 CD4 720 37%/VL <50
10/15/07 CD4 891 (!) %? VL <50
1/2010 CD4 599 (37%) VL<50 (drop due to acute HCV)
9/2010 - looks like HCV is gone for good! And I'm finally drinking again, thank GOD
2013 - considering a switch to Stribild. but I love my Kidneys (but I hate farting all the time!)...
June 2013 - switched to Stribild.  so far so good...

Offline darryaz

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #33 on: March 18, 2013, 03:41:37 pm »
But then again, we do need our vegetables...

THIS is why I participate in the Forum.  Some of these folks make me ROTFL!!!!!

THANK YOU NYCguy!!!!!!

Offline Ann

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Re: Quad Pill/Stribild Questions
« Reply #34 on: March 19, 2013, 10:56:50 am »

Just wanted to say thanks for the clarification Ann and point well taken. 


You're welcome. I deal with hiv related gut issues, but it only became "official" in my medical records once we had exhausted every other possible cause.

I tried:

Dietary changes: 1) Eating a very basic diet - sometimes known as a "stone-age diet" - totally cutting out processed foods, dairy, gluten etc, for at least a month (I did two) and then slowly adding in other foods.

2) Following diets for IBS and other food-related ailment sufferers. Nothing made a change.

Testing: Blood tests, countless stool samples, more blood tests. More stool samples; oh joy. Nada. These tests were ongoing for the two years or so while I tried dietary adjustments.

Control: 1) One or two (or 3?) drugs used in IBS, the names of which I can't for the life of me recall. Did nothing.

2) Immodium (aka loperimide) made me feel constantly car-sick (throwing up would have been a relief), did nothing to help the cramping and gave me combined diarrhea and constipation. Don't ask. It ain't pretty.

3) Dihydrocodeine. It works - for me. (I am NOT advocating it for everyone/anyone.) Very little diarrhea, no cramping (used to be a huge issue), and no constipation. I've used the same dosage for years, despite some doctors claiming my tolerance would rise and I'd become nothing more than a junkie. Proved those judgemental freaks wrong. :)
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

 


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